For three years [DB]Emmanuel Gatling[/DB] has paid his dues on various scout teams and special teams at Mississippi State.

The junior safety has also paid his way through school during that span. But that all changed this fall when head coach [DB]Dan Mullen[/DB] informed him that he and [DB]John McMillan[/DB] would be placed on full scholarship.

"It's been a long time coming," Gatling said. "I've been hoping, working hard and praying that God would take care of everything. We were at practice during two-a-days and it was a grind and it was at that point I was asking myself if I really wanted to do this. I was having a bad day and we had a break and coach told me during the break that he was going to be able to put me on scholarship. He told me not tell anybody so he could tell everybody after practice. The hardest part was holding it in."

Even with one of his goals accomplished, Gatling continues his hard work to attain more benchmarks he has set for himself.

"I felt like all the hard work had paid off but I felt like the job wasn't done," Gatling said. "My goal wasn't just to come here and get a scholarship. My goal was to come here, play and help this team. Me playing on special teams and playing is really what I wanted to do."

Gatling has played in 14 games during his Bulldog career working primarily on special teams. He has made five tackles including one against Auburn this season.